NEW YORK (Reuters) -A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow’s war in Ukraine, despite both leaders describing the talks in Alaska as productive.
During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour talks, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on. I would say a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite got there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, “Pursuing Peace.”
COMMENTS:
HELIMA CROFT, GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMODITY STRATEGY AT RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK:
“It seems to be the scenario that we anticipated in our note. Soundbites signaling diplomatic progress but few concrete deal specifics. We will watching to see whether the ‘too be continued’ outcome is enough to table the secondary sanctions on India for continuing to import Russian oil. Certainly will fall short of anything that will convince the Europeans to consider vacating their Russian energy sanctions.”
CAROL SCHLEIF, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, BMO PRIVATE WEALTH, MINNEAPOLIS:
“The only news was absolutely no news out of it. Not sure there will be any market impactful portions – geopolitical issues in general do not tend to preoccupy market attention for very long if at all.”
“Markets are at new highs despite this conflict going on for three years. Markets care more about consumers, inflation and commentary from Wyoming next week.”
ERIC TEAL, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, COMERICA, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA:
“The fact that there were no economic sanctions is a positive and markets should breathe a sigh of relief, but it doesn’t appear as though a deal is in hand.”
“If anything, we see opportunity in the energy sector, as oil prices are at pretty low levels here and the prospect of sanctions on oil did not bear out. There could be a relief rally and that would be an opportunity to invest in energy as we head into higher seasonal demands and economic growth beginning to re-accelerate.”
“Gold and precious metals are likely to sell off because of being an asset class good for safety. Given concerns about inflation, they are a good buying point as well if any weakness.”
EUGENE EPSTEIN, HEAD OF TRADING AND STRUCTURED PRODUCTS, NORTH AMERICA, MONEYCORP, NEW JERSEY:
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